Mabeza 2005

The Physico-chemical Characteristics of the Queen Pineapple Cultivar
(Ananas comosus) of the Philippines

Aurora M. Mabeza,1 and Adora S. Pili2
1
Camarines Norte State College, Daet, Camarines Norte, Philippines
2
Technological University of the Philippines, Ayala Blvd., Manila, Philippines
INTRODUCTION
Pineapple is one of the top agricultural products of the Philippines. There are two
cultivars grown in the country, the sweet cayenne also known as the “hawaii” variety and
the queen, locally referred to as the “formosa” variety. The sweet cayenne is mostly
processed and exported by multinational companies in the processed form. The queen
cultivar is cultured to meet the local demand for the fruit.
The province of Camarines Norte is the only province in the Philippines that
traditionally grows the queen pineapple (Ananas comosus) cultivar. This cultivar is
distinct that it has a crispy texture with a peculiar very sweet taste that is highly
acceptable in a pineapple fruit. The fruit is primarily marketed in the fresh form as a table
fruit. Yet the physico-chemical characteristics of this fruit that may affect its subsequent
handling are still undocumented.
The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the physico-chemical characteristics
of the queen pineapple and to identify the impact of these properties to the post-harvest
handling, marketing and processing of the fruit.
MATERIALS AND METHODS

The laboratory and analytical methods of information generation for three sizes of
the queen pineapple cultivar (small, medium and butterball) were used. Physical
properties like the mean total length, mean length of the different parts; mean total
weight, mean weight of the different parts of the peeled and unpeeled samples; mean top,
middle, bottom, and top-to-bottom circumferences of the peeled and unpeeled samples;
and the mean juice content of the fruits were taken with the use of standard measuring
instruments.
The chemical properties that were analyzed included the total soluble solids
measured as % sucrose and the titratable acidity measured as % citric acid, using standard
methods of analysis. The proximate composition of the edible portion and the peel of the
pineapple were determined and compared. Laboratory studies on the stability and changes
in the fruit at room temperature storage were also undertaken.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

The mean length of the unpeeled medium, small and butterball samples were 29.1,
27.8 and 23.7 centimeters respectively. The fleshy or edible portion of the fruit was
56.4%, 50% and 38.4% of the total length of the fruit. The mean total weights of the
samples were 808.666.6 and 425.2 grams for the medium, small and butterball samples.
After peeling the fleshy portion of the fruit without the core was 30.4%, 29.9% and 21.6%
of the unpeeled total weight of the medium, small and butterball samples respectively.
Circumference measurements before and after peeling of the top, middle and bottom
portions of the fruits showed its tapering shape.
The mean juice content of the pineapple were 130.1, 86.6 and 51.1 milliliters,
which is 2.4%, 2.9% and 2.4% of the mean total weights of the medium, small and
butterball samples.
The chemical properties of the fruit that were evaluated included its total soluble
solids, titratable acidity and proximate composition of both the peel and the flesh. The
mean total soluble solids expressed as % sucrose were 13.5%, 14.8% and 10.6%, while
the mean titratable acidity expressed as % citric acid were 0.86%, 0.80% and 0.70% of
the medium, small and butterball samples respectively. Proximate composition of the
flesh of the pineapple showed that it is a low-calorie but nutrition-packed food. The
Proc. IC Postharvest Downunder 2004

Ed.: D.J. Tanner 359
Acta Hort. 687, ISHS 2005
proximate composition of the peel indicated that it is as nutritious as the flesh of the fruit.
The shelf-life of the pineapple during storage at room temperature was also
determined. Irrespective of the size and the presence of the crown, the samples
maintained their good quality at room temperature up to four days only. On the fifth day,
most of the samples were already spoiled. On the sixth day of storage, all the samples
were definitely spoiled, exhibiting soft texture, exudates and foul odor.
The implications of the physico-chemical characteristics of the queen pineapple to
post harvest handling were also identified.
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Mabeza 2005

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The Physico-chemical Characteristics of the Queen Pineapple Cultivar

(Ananas comosus) of the Philippines

MATERIALS AND METHODS

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Proc. IC Postharvest Downunder 2004

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